Pamela C. (pj-s-bookcorner) reviewed Boots on the Ground by Dusk: My Tribute to Pat Tillman on + 885 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
I liked this book - not that it was an easy read. Throughout the book, you feel the physical and emotional pain of a mother who has lost her eldest son to the war in Afghanistan - not to the enemy but by "friendly" fire. The discovery of that fact and the family's continued attempts to get answers surrounding his death is frustrating even from a reader's position. The ensuing cover-up/manipulation of the facts is both surprising and expected. This is a loving tribute to an exceptional young man and his family.
Alberto R. (sirtitan) reviewed Boots on the Ground by Dusk: My Tribute to Pat Tillman on + 6 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
I prefered this book over John Krakauer's, which detailed some events in the life of Pat Tillman. I have the upmost respect for the Tillman family after reading their story. It's good to know that there are others out there who are not just sheep in society. The Tillman family appears to use rational thought in their lives, a quality slowly eroding from the American fabric of character. Their endless pursuit of the truth about their son's death is admirable, given the nature of our "democratic" government. After reading the book and the details of Pat's death, I do have a suspicion that his death may have been murder. I always like to think like a statistician, and therefore, given the facts, there is insufficient evidence to reject the hypothesis that he was murdered, most likely for personal gain for our renegade government. More than anything, I admire and now look up to Pat Tillman as a person. He was truly remarkable. He tested the limits of what a human can accomplish. Above all, he had integrity, a characteristic becoming endangered in the human gene pool. Tragically it was his integrity that implicitly lead to his death. I don't know many humans who would reject a $7 million+ NFL Contract in the middle of an Army Ranger contract. This was unfortunately his tragic flaw. By then he knew the war was wrong and chose to stick to the full term of his Ranger contract, albeit this conscious (by then) participation in an illegal war being a deviation to his perceived unwavering integrity.
This book is written by Pat Tillman's mother. In her words and those of family and friends we learn who Pat was as a person. The book covers Pat growing up to his death to the cover ups the military made about his death. The book also deals with a search for answers for what really happened to Pat. The family was originally told one story about his death. Then they learn through a reporter Pat died from friendly fire. Many investigations have led to Pat's family and friends belief that he was murdered by his own unit. The details of his death are difficult to read. The book details the actual reports that are sometimes inconsistent and contradict what the officials have said.
LaDonna T. (ladonnaraye) reviewed Boots on the Ground by Dusk: My Tribute to Pat Tillman on + 5 more book reviews
Good historical background and general information about Afghanistan, good info about KIA/ WIA due to friendly fire, some interesting stuff about footballa game I still dont understand, the author doesn't seem to support Bush and doesnt seem to support any of our current war endeavors.
